Fall Colors

Riding Through the Leaves

Serenity

Fun at Lake Dillon

Mountain Stream

Tiny Wonders

The People I Love

Happiness

What are the Russell’s pets up to?

Last week we discovered that our cool hamster, Hammy, passed away. I didn’t think it was going to really affect the kids because they had not paid much attention to him as of late. But, I was wrong. The kids, during this little ‘teaching moment,’ were not as cavalier as I thought they might be. Gillian still prays for Hammy and asks daily if we can get a new little hamster. Hayden took it very hard. He seems to be internalizing a lot of it. The other day at the grocery store as we walked down the pet aisle to pick up some dog bones, I caught my sweet boy staring at the hamster food. “Mommy Auto-Pilot” kicked in and I wanted t o scoop him up and love him. But I respected the fact that he didn’t open that door. Instead, he flashed me his tender little smile as if we understood each other’s thoughts.

Zippy is still a sweet pooch and he has come a long way. He loves attention and is quite jealous of his canine brother.? Zippy truly ‘zips’ around our yard — chasing rabbits, catching birds and running up and down the fence playing with the neighbor dog. He also loves to be vacuumed. Whenever I vacuum, he follows me around until I vacuum his coat.

Bennett is a wild child. He is so fast and loves to annoy the entire family. He steals socks, toys and toilet paper. He is so soft and loves to be held. He is really fitting in nicely in this crazy home. He looks very handsome right now as he just got groomed.

It wouldn’t be appropriate to forget sweet little Kady. The 28th of this month marks three years that she left us. I think of her often and I really miss her. I know she would think we were insane if she were here now.